It is an understatement to say that an extremely large amount of research has gone into developing existing energy sources, as well as exploring alternative energy sources such as a solar, tidal and wind energy.
As indicated above, the present invention is concerned, in part, with using the difference in elevation between different parts of the system in generating energy. Patents of interest in this particular field include the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,953,971 (Parker); 5,255,519 (Katovitch); 4,760,706 (Nasser); 5,488,828 (Brossard); 4,318,275 (Brown et al.); 4,187,686 (Pommier); and 1,085,703 (Rochelle).
Briefly considering these patents, the Parker patent discloses a system for generating power wherein liquid stored at a higher elevation travels down a conduit to a power generation unit at a lower elevation. The liquid is then vaporized and heated before traveling up a conduit back to the higher elevation where the vapor condensed to a liquid for reuse. The Katovitch patent discloses a power generation system wherein helium is utilized as a working recycled fluid which is heated to convert the fluid to a vapor form for powering a generator. The Nasser, Brossard, and Brown et al. patents each disclose a power generation system wherein a coolant is evaporated a lower position, allowed to rise via tubing to a higher position, liquefied at the higher position, and then allowed to flow down to the lower position where the liquid drives a turbine connected to a generator. The Pommier patent discloses a power generation system wherein fluid is warmed at a lower level to convert the fluid to a gas and cooled at an upper level to convert the gas back to a fluid. The hydraulic pressure of the liquid moving from the upper level to the lower level is used to generate power. The Rochelle patent discloses a water motor which utilizes water, and gravity, to pull down buckets from an upper elevation and thereby generate energy.